Lis pendens subordinated a pendente lite mortgage to rights created by a compromise decree in the same suit.

A mortgage created during the pendency of litigation concerning immovable property remained subject to the doctrine of lis pendens under section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act because the property was directly in issue in the suit. The operation of section 52 did not depend on the ultimate strength of the parties' claims, and a compromise decree made in the suit could still determine rights affecting the property. The compromise terms here did not clearly displace that statutory effect or confer priority on the mortgage, so the mortgage remained subordinate to the rights created by the decree.

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Issues: Whether a mortgage executed during the pendency of a suit was hit by the doctrine embodied in section 52 of the Transfer of Property Act, and whether a subsequent compromise decree or the terms of the compromise displaced that effect.

Analysis: Section 52 is directed to preserving the status quo during the pendency of litigation and applies where immovable property is directly and specifically in question. Its operation does not depend on the ultimate strength of the parties' claims or on whether the compromise decree precisely mirrors the plaint reliefs. A compromise decree is still a decree made in the suit, and where it in substance provides the relief claimed, the pendente lite mortgage remains subject to the rights created by that decree. The compromise terms did not clearly confer priority on the mortgage or qualify the express first charge created by the decree.

Conclusion: The mortgage was subject to section 52 and could not take priority over the rights flowing from the compromise decree.

Final Conclusion: The appeal failed and the High Court's decision was affirmed.

Ratio Decidendi: A transfer or encumbrance created during the pendency of litigation concerning immovable property remains subordinate to the rights determined by the decree in that suit, including a compromise decree, unless the decree or compromise clearly excludes the operation of section 52.

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